Somebody Like You
by Marissalyn
Summary: Elena is an English professor at NYU. She is happily married, or so she thought. One of her students catches her eye in a way that he shouldn't. Will Elena be able to stay away from this younger man or will she give in to the whim of her heart's desires? Once she makes that choice there's no turning back, Stefan'll be sure of that.
1. Chapter 1

The morning came quickly as the sun's rays begun to peek through the closed curtains, spilling over their pillows as Elena's eyes opened to meet the day with a dissatisfied sigh. She had only gotten four hours of sleep and she knew it wasn't enough to get her through the day. Today was a big day, it was the first day of classes and she had no idea as to what she would start the year off with. She was an English professor at New York University (NYU for short) and she only had half the list of books to be read done.

Her loving husband still lay asleep beside her as she stood from their king sized bed to open the curtains and start the new day off fresh. She padded into the bathroom, stripping herself of her clothes and climbing into the shower to wash away the sex from the night before. She paid close attention to her tangled brunette curls, making sure her fingers didn't get caught in any knots as she rinsed out the conditioner and turned the shower head off, wrapping a towel around her and drying off. When she headed back into the bedroom, her husband was sitting up in bed, running a hand through his hair and smiling lazily at her, "Good time last night." She smirked, "Keep complimenting me like that and you'll have to tie me to the bed so my big head doesn't lift me off the ground." "Mm, tempting." Stefan said sleepily as he watched her dress.

"I'll see you tonight." She said, kissing him briefly before leaving their flat and headed down to the parking lot to start up her jeep. When she reached the university, she parked her car and headed inside to air out her room considering all the hot air that had been accumulated over the summer had been locked in there for three months. She sat at her desk, waiting for her laptop to boot up so she could take a look at her roster for the first class of the day.

An hour later students begun to pour in, young adults ranging from 18 to 25. She leaned back against her desk, looking over the class, there were about 30 students total. Right before she begun to speak, a man about 18 came running in through the door, huffing and puffing as he bent over to catch his breath. "Sorry…I'm…late." He struggled to get out as he stood up straight and looked her in the eye. Elena felt her breath catch in her throat as she looked this late comer over. "That's quite alright, it's nice of you to join us Mr.?" "Salvatore." He supplied. She nodded, "Yes well, you can take your seat anywhere in the room." He seemed the type of guy to cause trouble with the ladies and to pick fights with guys he didn't like, so it surprised her when he picked the seat in the first row, front and center.

She cleared her throat, "Now that everyone's here, I would like to start off by introducing myself, I'm Mrs. Pierce, some of you may know me from your upperclassmen or from simply seeing me around campus." She could feel his eyes on her as she stared at the back wall, trying to find the right words to say. "As you already may know, there will be plenty of reading, you will read 100 books all together this year." A few groans rang out from the back of the room. "Yes I know it's not the most exciting thing and that this is a required course but I will make it go by real fast. Every book you will read I picked precisely for many different reasons." She could feel all 31 pairs of eyes on her; some guys were whispering profanities at each other. "Please boys, didn't your mother ever tell you how to act in front of a lady?" The boys who were whispering went bright red, being caught talking sexually about their teacher as the rest of the class chuckled.

"Thank you." She said, knowing that they wouldn't be talking dirty for a while. She felt his eyes on her as he smiled smugly, waiting for her to continue her speech.

She clasped her hands together, "Any questions?" she asked. A few hands shot up as she pointed to one near the back, "What times this class over?" the guy asked. She looked to her watch, "Five minutes." She answered a few more questions concerning what book they were going to read first which she wouldn't tell them yet and what they would need to bring to class on a daily bases. "Just a notebook is all." She answered. The bell rang after a few more questions as the room filed out and Elena was left alone to sit with her thoughts for another hour and half before her next class. Just when she thought everyone had left she heard someone clear their throat as she looked up from her lesson plans. He stood there, looking down on her with those dangerous blue eyes. Just those eyes could get her into a lot of trouble. "Hello, I just wanted to know if I could get the reading list ahead of time, I like to be prepared." Elena felt her throat tighten, for god's sake woman you're married! She yelled at herself. She rifled through her papers for a moment before pulling out the list of books, "Only half finished though." She said uncertainly. He smiled, "That's alright, I'll just ask for another copy once it's finished." She couldn't tell if he was flirting with her or not but she handed the paper to him anyways. "Thanks." He said. He begun to head out the door before turning around and saying, "I'm Damon by the way, I prefer first names to suffixes." She raised a brow, an English major, as if that didn't make him even more attractive.

….

That night Elena sat before her computer, typing away the rest of the list in hopes to have another conversation with Damon the next day. Stefan sat up in bed, "When are you coming to bed?" he whined. "Just a few more minutes." She said, when in reality she spent two more hours looking up book titles that she thought the younger man might find interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

Damon got up that morning feeling more excited for class than he ever thought he could be. He left the dorm extra early; he didn't even bother to wake his roommate Alaric. He wandered around campus for awhile before making his way to her classroom. He couldn't wait to see her, it had only been one day and they only exchanged a few words but he couldn't get his mind off of her. He figured she was married considering that big rock on her left ring finger but nevertheless, it didn't mean he couldn't appreciate what was in front of him.

He took his seat at the front of the class; no one else was there yet, in fact neither was she. He leaned back in his chair as the bell rang and the class piled into the room along with Mrs. Pierce. "Good morning everyone, today I would like to start off by informing you that by tomorrow you should have your first book for the year that you will read for this class. That book will be _The Great Gatsby_." Groans filled the room as per usual when slackers found out that they had work to do. Lucky for Damon he loved to read, and even luckier was she that _The Great Gatsby_ was one of his favorites.

The rest of the class went on just like any other day, Mrs. Pierce handed out papers a few being the requirements for the class, class rules, and the agenda for the next month, but no list of books for the year. Damon frowned down at his desk before shrugging it off. The bell rang for the ending of the class as everyone high-tailed it out of there to get to their next class, but not Damon. He didn't have another class until four and it was only eleven. He had work in between but he didn't mind having later classes. He reached her desk as she looked at him expectantly, "I got you the list if you still want it." She told him. He smirked, "That would be lovely." He looked the sheet over, "These are some great books, you know." She grinned, "Well I'm glad you enjoy my taste in reading." He smirked, "You didn't tell me your name yesterday." She raised a brow, "Excuse me?" she asked. "Your name, you never told me what it was." Elena swallowed, "Mrs. Pierce will do just fine." She said. He nodded, "Ok well I'll see you tomorrow then." He looked down at her hands which were displayed nicely on top of her desk. He headed towards the door and without turning around said, "Say hi to your husband for me." Elena looked down at her hands, at the ring that Stefan had bought for her almost a year ago now. She sighed before getting back to her work.

Damon went back to his dorm in a brisk pace, why did it have to hurt to so much? He had met her yesterday, there is absolutely no way that he should be this jealous of a married woman who had to be 10 years older than him. Alaric was home thank god, if he came home to an empty dorm room he probably would have trashed the place in rage. "Hey man." Ric said as Damon closed the door behind him. Damon ignored him as his roommate paused the game and turned around to face him, "Not again." He said. Damon nodded sullenly, "Again." "But you've just gotten over Becky." Damon flopped onto his bed, staring at the white ceiling, blah. His whole life felt blah. Damon hated this, why couldn't he just be a douche like every other guy on campus instead of this constant heart ache that stayed with him no matter the girl. At this point he was so vulnerable he was pretty sure that he could fall in love with a trash can. "If I didn't know you as well as I do I'd say you were crazy." Ric continued.

Damon sighed, "Me too man, me too."

….

Elena went home that night to find lily petals lining the hall towards her apartment door. She shook her head as she opened the door to find the whole home unlit and flickering flames filled the room.

She slipped off her shoes and dropped her bag on the counter. "Stefan?" she called out to what seemed to be an empty apartment. She followed the trail of petals till they stopped at the shut bedroom door. She opened her door to find that there was no one in the room. She bunched her brows together in confusion, that's when she felt arms wrap around her and a pair of hands cover her eyes. That's when it all came crashing down, she forgot that today was their anniversary. "Guess who?" Stefan's voice asked. "Hmmm, oh I don't know this is a toughie." She could feel him smirk as he pressed his face into her hair. "I love you." Her heart clenched, he spent hours on this thinking of only her and she was out at work and thinking dirty thoughts about another man. "I love you too." She said as he ran his hands down her sides and back up again. "You are so perfect." He whispered. Not even close she thought.

….

Elena lied awake that night; Stefan had been far gone by now in his dreams as she stared at the ceiling. She felt guilty, there was a man beside her who loved her very much and yet she still fantasized about a student who was half her age. She needed to clear her head, from now on she would only be a good wife. Little did she know how hard that would be.


	3. Chapter 3

Class the next day was the same as Elena tried to avoid all eye contact from the man in the front row. She could feel his eyes on her as she paced the front of the room, discussing the writing style of F. Scott Fitzgerald. The groups of troublemakers in the back were asleep and she couldn't help but sigh as she picked up the heavy textbook and dropped it onto her desk. Some of them jumped from their slacker slumber, but most of them just kept on dozing. She sighed, "Most of you may have already read_ The Great Gatsby_ in high school, but it is truly a classic so I put it on our list of reads." 31 pairs of eyes stared back at her. She picked up the box of paperbacks that was sitting on her desk and thought of an idea, if he wanted to stare, than he was going to work for it. She turned back towards the class, "Mr. Salvatore would you be so kind as to hand out a book to each student for me?" He smirked, "Of course."

As Damon handed out the books he thought of Mrs. Pierce and how sad she looked today, he would give anything to understand why. After he handed out the last of the books he turned to find her staring. Their eyes met from across the room and it was a shock that no one else had noticed but they spoke without saying anything. Damon mouthed, "How are you?" she shook her head and pointed to his empty seat and said aloud, "Please sit back down Mr. Salvatore, you really shouldn't fool around in the back." He felt his face grow a shade pinker but nothing that anyone but she would notice.

The rest of class they talked about Nick Caraway living in 1922 and how he meets Jay Gatsby. When the bell rang Damon waited for the rest of the class to file out before going up to her desk. "How are you?" he asked, noticing that she wouldn't look up at him and when she did she would look anywhere else but at him. "I'm quite alright, how you?" She asked. "Pretty good, pretty good except there's a pretty girl in this class that I like and she won't give me the time of day."

Elena gulped, "Mr. Salvatore I do believe that it to be highly inappropriate for a teacher to have relations with a student outside of class." He smirked, running his finger over the top of her laptop, "Who said we had to leave the classroom? Besides, I didn't say anything about you." He left then before she could say anything as Damon made his way back to his dorm to get ready for work. He felt his heart clench. He hated doing this to himself, why were woman so hard to obtain? She was married but yet she looked sad, that can hardly mean that her husband is a good husband. He needed to get over her, it was the only way and to do so he was going to need some help from the sorority girls personally.

Elena went home that evening, dropping her bag onto the computer chair she flopped back onto their bed and sighed. It shouldn't be this hard. She felt bad for thinking about anyone but Stefan and she felt terrible for ignoring Damon. She didn't know what to do, if she truly loved Stefan which she did, she wouldn't have these thoughts. She covered her face with a pillow only to find that it was Stefan's. She inhaled his scent; maybe she could fool herself for just a bit longer.

….

The next day Damon and Elena showed up at the classroom door at the same time. One of the girls from the class draped over him. "Ladies first." He said with a slight venom in his voice. Elena felt her stomach do somersaults, seeing him with another girl just didn't sit right. She stood in front of the class as she watched the girl say, "Damon baby why don't we sit in the back so we can you know, make out." Elena rolled her eyes as she cleared her throat to get the rest of the class to quiet down. "So starting tonight I want you to read chapters 1-10 and be ready for a reading check tomorrow in class. I'll give you this class time to get started. Use your time wisely, I'm not going to tell you otherwise, what you decide is what you will get." She said this as she looked at Damon through the sea of students; he even stared back and visibly gulped.

Elena spent the rest of class typing up the reading check for the next day when she heard the sound of footsteps come closer to her desk. She looked up, expecting Damon only to see that it was another student, "Do you have a pencil I could borrow to jot down notes?" Elena smiled smugly as she handed over a pencil she wasn't attached to, just in case she didn't get it back. When she looked up, she saw Damon making out in the back with the girl from earlier, giving her a look over the girl's shoulder whilst kissing her neck.

Once Elena looked away Amanda pushed Damon off of her. "I told you no neck! Liam will notice." Liam was her goof of a boy toy. He rolled his eyes, "Get over it, it wasn't like I was using a plunger." Amanda scoffed, "You're lucky I'm even doing this, and I expect my money hand delivered to me by tomorrow morning." The bell rang then as Damon shrugged, "One more for the road?" Amanda sighed, waiting for him to stand before wrapping her arms around his waist and walking with him out of the classroom.

Elena felt a loss when Damon didn't stop to chat like he normally did, he must have figured trying to pursue her was pointless, that or Elena was just flattering herself, maybe he never liked her to begin with. These thoughts floating around in her head were foolish. He was only 18! He was a child for crying out loud! Elena sighed, pushing her hair back and leaning back in her chair. She couldn't wait for the day when her stupid heart didn't get in the way of what she needed her life to be.

Finally the first weekend of the semester came with ease as Elena rolled over in her bed. Her hand made contact with Stefan's bare chest as she pulled herself closer to his body in an attempt to fall back asleep in the comfort of the man she loved. He groaned in acknowledgement to her touch before rolling over and wrapping his arms around her waist. He nibbled at her neck, making her giggle. "Damon stop!" and that was the first mistake she would make that day.

Stefan pulled away slowly, "What did you just say?" Elena gulped, closing her eyes as she muttered, "Stupid, stupid, stupid." Stefan sat up, looking at her with confusion and anger in his eyes. "Who's Damon?"


	4. Chapter 4

Elena clenched her hands into fists. "Elena, I asked you a question. Who is Damon?" "He's just a friend." Stefan sighed, "Elena I know when you're lying, you're a terrible liar. Why are you lying to me?" She shook her head, "It doesn't matter, he's just a friend." "If it didn't matter you wouldn't be lying." He said. Elena sighed, "I'm sorry." She stood then, throwing on her robe and slippers before grabbing her car keys and leaving.

Damon was wandering around campus, it was Sunday and he had absolutely nothing to do. Alaric was at his parents' for the day and he had nowhere to be. He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he left the library. The university was nearly deserted; he weaved his way through the courtyard humming to himself. He heard an engine running which was odd because the last time he walked past the parking lot there were no cars there accept the janitor's. He noticed a jeep running with the driver still inside. The driver looked like she was crying. He walked over, fully aware that it was none of his business and lightly rapped on the window. The woman froze, still not looking up. She had dark brown curls in a wild display atop her head and was wearing a light purple robe. It took her a moment to quickly wipe away her tears.

That's when it hit him, he knew those hands and he knew those curls. "Mrs. Pierce?" Elena looked up as her jaw dropped. Damon didn't know what to say, he wanted to know why she was crying and end the life of whoever caused it. If only he knew it was himself who caused her tears.

Elena's eyes bulged; he wasn't supposed to see her like this. First off she was his professor it was highly unprofessional for him to see her in such a state, and second she knew how unattractive she looked when she cried. He knocked on her window again, "Mrs. Pierce, what happened?" Elena rolled down her window, waving her hand in dismissal. "Nothing's wrong." She said, sniveling the whole time. He looked at her sideways, "Want to talk about it over coffee?" She felt her hands grow clammy, she knew she shouldn't, that he was the reason for her and Stefan's fight but she couldn't say no. "Sure." He nodded, walking around her car and climbing into the passenger seat. When she looked at him as if he had three heads, he smirked, "You didn't honestly think that I'd treat you to campus coffee? Please, give me some credit. I may be 18 but at least I've got good taste."

Fifteen minutes later they sat in her car considering her wardrobe wasn't the best attire for the public eye to see. "So what happened?" he asked. As if she was going to tell him that she called out his name while in bed with her husband. "Just a little predicament with the husband." She said with a wry smile. Damon raised a brow, a warning sign to show that he didn't believe her for a second. When she didn't tell him he shrugged, "Fine, don't tell me but our adventure isn't over just yet." They switched seats in her car as he drove off towards his favorite place in the whole world.

"What is this place?" she asked. It was near the water, the only word she could use to describe it was a cove. Damon climbed ahead of her, dropping down onto the ground of the underground cave. He peered up at her, "You coming?" She nodded, soon becoming self-conscious of her robe and slippers. The ocean air nipped at her bare legs as she shuddered. He watched her battle herself in her head as he held out his hand. Elena closed her eyes, what was she doing? How stupid could she be? What was she doing here with this boy that caused her to slip up in the first place, especially when Stefan was at home waiting for her to come home? She was afraid of him. She had no idea what he was capable of. She never would have thought that she knew very little about her own husband. Damon helped her down through the hole in the ceiling, holding her elbow as she caught her footing on the wet rock slab. Elena held onto his shoulder nearly gasping at the warmth emanating from beneath his light weight v-neck. She could feel muscles flex beneath the skin. As soon as she could stand he let her go even though she still clung to him. When she realized what she was doing she let go awkwardly but not long enough before truly gasping.

It was no place she'd ever seen before. There was a hole in the wall as an overhang, nothing that you could leave through, that showed an overview of the roaring waves below and the Statue of Liberty in the distance. There was a bench that was carved out of the rock wall, one of nature's creations no doubt. Blankets and pillows littered the far corner with an empty cooler and lantern sitting on top. Stacks of books lined the back wall with a can of pens sitting atop a small pile of battered notebooks. "Wow, did you do this all yourself?" he shrugged modestly, "Yeah, I found it back in the beginning of the summer. No one else knows about it."

Elena gulped, there was that feeling again. She walked over to the rock bench which was being used as a shelf with a bunch of melted candles and a few empty beer bottles with some type of liquid glitter inside them. She knew the question she wanted to ask before she even said it. She could feel him only inches away from her, felt his eyes on her back. Without turning she asked, "Why did you bring me here?" "What do you mean?" he asked. She could hear the confusion in his voice as she felt his hand on her shoulder. "Mrs. Pierce, what is wrong?" Elena sighed; looking into his eyes left an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Damon seemed closer somehow and she could feel his hands on her sides. She visibly gulped; her voice was barely an audible whisper. "Please tell me." He pleaded in a hushed tone. When did it get so quiet? She wondered. "I can't" she said. He sighed, "Well than at least let me make you feel better." He whispered as he leaned in to kiss her. Elena felt herself let go, letting his arms envelope her and his lips to lightly caress hers in the most exhilarating way possible. Her hands gripped onto his shirt, grabbing at his shoulders as she felt his fingers ghost over her arms, pushing her robe off and onto the floor. He kissed down her jaw and onto her neck, pushing his hands up the back of her shirt. Elena's eyes widened, realizing what was happening, pushing Damon off of her and quickly climbing up and out of the hole in which they had entered. Damon looked down at his feet to realize that she had left her robe where it had fallen and picking it up he noticed a name was embossed on the left breast. "Elena." He said, smiling. And what a beautiful name it was, he thought.

Elena finally returned home after finding her car and trying to clear her mind of all things Damon. She had no idea what she was going to come home to but she was sure it wouldn't be that bad. She would just tell Stefan the truth. Surely he would forgive her for only one kiss. She'll just have to leave out the part of how hot it had made her. She dropped her keys onto the bar and moved uncertainly back into their bedroom. She found him rifling through her messenger bag, her paperwork and lesson plans everywhere. "What are you doing?" she asked, surely he was overreacting. Stefan stood, throwing back the desk chair as it toppled over. "I'm not going to ask again Elena, who is he?!" His voice was tense, filled with such rage pent up behind his lips. She didn't know what to say, she clenched her hands into fists at her sides, her knuckles turning white. After a moment of complete and utter silence, she let out a shuddered breath. She closed her eyes briefly before opening them once more. Stefan looked at her with a type of concern that she had seen plenty of times before but never in a situation such as this. "He's a student of mine." She watched as his face fell. "I'm so sorry." She said, tears filling her eyes. She reached out to him as he inched away from her touch, sitting down on their bed and ran a hand through his hair, "Did I do something?" he asked. Elena frowned, "No, you did nothing wrong. It's me, I was stupid." "Are you unhappy? Because you know I'll do anything for you." This is what she knew would hurt the most, when he would think it was his fault.

"I think I'll take the couch tonight." He said, grabbing his pillow before leaving the bedroom and shutting the door behind him. With that it seemed to show how different they had truly become. Elena flopped back onto the bed, such memories filled these sheets. She couldn't get over how stupid she could be. First she slips up and calls her husband by another man's name and then she goes out and finds said man and lets him kiss her, and she enjoyed it too. She could already feel herself slipping back into her old self. How much worse would she make things before they would go back to the way they were? There was only one way to do this, get Damon to drop her class.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey guys! First off I'd like to note that many people have asked me to change the age of Elena and Damon, that their age gap is awkward so I have decided to change it to this since you guys are the ones reading it: Damon is 21 and Elena is 26. Is that better? Let me know. Another thing that was mentioned was that it would be highly unlikely for you to be able to read a hundred books in a year for a class so I bumped the book number down to 60. Also I just wanted to point out that this story is strictly going to be rated T, I'm a little rusty with the smut scenes so I decided to leave them out. From here the story is going to get more interesting (I hope) and definitely more dramatic and angst filled. Please bear with me, thank you to those who reviewed and now before I get sappy, on with the story. I'll see you guys on the other side.

….

The next day Damon headed to class with ease, he had her robe in his bag, but when he got there, someone else was sitting in her seat. No one else was there yet as per usual as he made his way towards the front of the room where her desk sat. "Excuse me, where is Elena, I mean Mrs. Pierce today?" The sub looked at him with a smirk, "On a first name basis with the teacher I see." The sub was in his 50s and he wore a Cheshire grin with furrowed pencil brows. This guy just screamed child molester with his sweater vest and multicolor bow tie. He even wore a name tag and Damon nearly keeled over with laughter when he read it, "Mr. Rogers." The sub looked at him again, "Yes?" Damon felt his knuckles crack as he made his hands into fists. "Don't ever talk about her again. You don't know her."

The middle aged man chuckled, "Well it certainly seems like you don't either. Listen kid, I've been a substitute teacher for as long as I can remember and your teacher was one of the many students I subbed for. I know a slut when I see one and Mrs. Pierce was one of the worst I'd ever seen. She used to screw anything with a heartbeat, blew the teachers for a good grade." Damon's blood boiled, "I don't believe you." The older man shrugged, "Fine, don't but if you honestly think you stand a chance you're wrong. She left a trail of broken hearts wherever she went." Mr. Rogers said. "How come you know all this?" Damon asked. The man smiled sadly, "Because I was one of her victims." The rest of the class filed in but he could not stay. Damon left quickly, not wanting to hear any more of the foolishness from the old man. If he were going to believe this, he would have to hear it from her.

Meanwhile back at the flat Elena tiptoed around Stefan as if he was a ticking time bomb. She didn't say much to him and when she did, she kept it simple. She knew that this was unlike him, to stay so quiet. Back in college she remembered that he would get in a ton of fights with his two best friends Klaus and Tyler. One time he was so far gone he had almost killed Klaus. Elena had to talk him down and even then he shouted profanities at her until she cried. She knew that he hadn't meant it but somehow it still stung. They had a bumpy relationship. They started going out in sophomore year of college but then broke up because Stefan was transferring to another college up in Boston. But one day they bumped into each other and got to talking. A year later they were engaged. It was just that simple and it seemed normal at the time. Everyone told them they were perfect together and it just fueled the fire. People stopped teasing about her college mistakes since she was going to be tied down. That was only a year ago and yet it seemed like it was so long ago.

Damon paced in his dorm, it was Monday night and he knew that he would have to sleep at his sister's flat since Ric already forewarned him that he was bringing his girlfriend Jenna back. Damon didn't want to be a third wheel anymore.

Elena parked her car and returned back to their apartment. She met Stefan at the door. "Where were you?" He asked sternly. She cocked a brow, lifting up the bags she carried in both hands, "The super market." "Don't give me that attitude!" He said through gritted teeth. She shook her head, "I'm not, I went and got food for the fridge." "I can see that." He said. "Then why did you ask?" she asked exasperated. He folded his arms across his chest, "Because I can't trust you." Elena rolled her eyes, "You've been talking to Austin again haven't you?" Stefan shrugged, "This isn't about Austin." Elena nodded, "You're right, this is about Saint Stefan and his slutty wife that can't keep her head out of the gutter." She pushed past him and into the kitchen and begun to put the groceries away in their rightful places. Stefan stood in the doorway, "Don't make me out to be the bad guy here." She ignored him as he leaned back against the frame. She begun to cook dinner, pulling out vegetables of various shades and colors, an artist's dream and begun to cut them up.

Stefan continued to poke and prod; "Besides I'm no saint but I've never cheated." Elena begun to laugh, more like a cackle as she pointed her knife up at the ceiling in defeat, "It was one kiss, one fucking kiss ok?!" Stefan froze, "You never said anything about a kiss." Elena stopped cutting for a second, thinking before continuing, "Never mind that, I'm here with you aren't I?" Stefan pushed off of the wall and shoved her up against the counter, making her drop the knife as it cut deep into her palm. She gripped her wrist, gently caressing her hand. "Don't think you can just say what you want you stupid bitch! You're in my house and you are my wife!" He screamed. He pushed away from her and threw a dish towel at her, looking at the spattered blood droplets, "Now clean up this mess you've made. I'm going out." He left then, slamming the front door as he went.

She cried then, letting the tears hot and heavy spill down her cheeks in such a way that could only be described as tragically beautiful. She wrapped the dish towel around her hand and left quickly, rushing to the ER, she was going to need stitches.

….

A/N: Hey guys, sorry this took two extra days to put up, this was more difficult to write because I wanted a real plot line so I had to develop that (All while sitting in English class if I may add). Hopefully tomorrow Chapter 6 will be up. Thanks for reading and if you have any questions let me know and I'll be sure to get back to you. Until next time, stay beautiful!

-Marissa


	6. Chapter 6

Damon was on his way to his sister's apartment which was just around the corner from the hospital when he noticed a jeep hastily park next to the curb. Elena flung open her driver door and climbed out. Damon quickly ran over, only taking him a second to realize it was her. "Elena!" She whipped her head to see Damon running towards her. "How do you know my name?" she was more than positive that she never told him. Damon hurriedly dismissed it, "Long story, what happened?" his eyes caught sight of the reddening dish towel. "We need to get you to the hospital!" he shouted. "Really, you think?" she asked as he rushed her towards the revolving doors.

Once Elena was taken care of, Damon could finally breathe again. He sat in a plastic chair outside in the waiting room when a nurse came out, "Damon?" the guy in the scrubs asked. He raised his hand foolishly as he stood and brushed his hands on the front of his jeans to smooth them out. "Ms. Gilbert would like to see you." He raised a brow, "I'm sorry?" The nurse smiled, "Elena signed in with her maiden name." Damon nodded his head as he followed the nurse named Matt back into the room where she sat in a hospital bed. She smiled at him as he stood in the doorway. She pointed to the chair beside her bed, "Sit down." He nodded before sitting down, confused and slightly uncomfortable.

Elena let out a sigh before talking, "I'm sure you want to know what happened and I can't tell you just yet, not here." He listened quietly as she continued, "I'm sorry for the wait, I got a bit squeamish with the cut, surprising considering I originally wanted to be a nurse." He listened but he needed to know something, "Who's Matt?" Elena smiled, "We went to high school together. He's a real great guy; he's the only one who has hung around this long." She smiled sadly, "He was my brother's best friend and we dated for all of high school. I broke up with him because I didn't think it was fair since I was going away to college, but it wasn't just that Matt was safe, he was my childhood and that's what made it hard. I couldn't picture boning a boy that I knew when he was five."

After Elena's confession Damon signed her out and walked her back to her jeep. As she sat behind the wheel she began to cry and brought him back to the other day when he saw her crying in the exact seat. It pained him to see her this way. "I can't go back there Damon. I can't bear to see him knowing that he did this to me and honestly I think this is just the beginning." She said. Damon was confused, "You're husband did this to you?!" Elena flinched before nodding, "Please don't make me go back there." Damon was furious, he couldn't wait for the day he met this asshole. "Move over." He said. Elena slid over into the passenger seat as he started the car up. "You can stay with me." He told her.

He drove her to his sister's apartment, parking the car in the parking garage. "Don't you live in a dorm on campus?" she asked. He nodded, "This is my sister's place, she's in London right now at an artist convention." Elena followed him into the elevator that took them up to the fifth floor. He found the door at the end of the hall that read '43' and opened it. He showed her around before saying, "You can have my bed I'll sleep in my sister's room." She nodded, swiping at her tears. He went into his sister's room came back out successful with an armful of clothes. "You guys look to be the same size so here." He handed her the clothes as she smiled at him politely, "Thank you." He nodded before she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and hugged him. "Seriously, thank you." She muffled into his chest. He awkwardly patted her back before she pulled away. "Goodnight." She said. "Goodnight." ….

The next morning Damon woke up early and decided that he probably should hop in the shower before Elena woke up. The bathroom was across the hall from where she slept so he tried to make as little noise as possible. He padded into the bathroom and turned the shower on as he stripped himself of his clothes. He climbed into the shower and shut the curtain behind him.

Elena woke to the sound of running water and sat up and ran a hand through her tangled curls. She heard the shower turn off and the bathroom door open. Damon walked down the hallway in just a towel, his nicely toned body glistening with water as he dried his hair on his way back to his sister's bedroom. She bit her lip before shaking her head, no, she couldn't and she wouldn't. She kept saying that to herself before getting in the shower herself. She could smell his cologne and found his jeans on a lump on the floor with things still stuffed into the pockets. She ignored it even though her curiosity told her otherwise. While she was in the shower she heard a knock at the door. "Come in!" she yelled over the water.

Damon poked his head around the door, "I just came to get my clothes." He searched the floor through the steam to find his discarded clothes before gathering them up and before shutting the door behind him said, "Breakfast will be about half an hour." Elena rinsed out his conditioner and turned the shower off. He was making her breakfast; no man had ever done that for her before. It made her heart melt at the thought of how much he cared about her. She headed into the bedroom and slipped into his sister's clothes. They fit perfectly. She looked around his room; it wouldn't hurt to poke around. She went over to his night stand first, opening the small drawer and flicking through newspaper clippings, they all read along the lines of 'House fire: 3 dead' Elena's smiled faded when she took notice to the picture of the deceased. It was a family of five, a man and woman stood side by side with smiles that seemed contagious. The woman held a small child in her arms and a little boy and girl stood in front of them with matching smiles and faces. Elena felt like she was trespassing so she quickly shut the drawer and left the room without a second glance.

She found Damon in the kitchen, standing over the stove with a spatula in hand. "Eggs ok?" he asked. She smiled, nodding her head as she watched him. He seemed happy, content almost. "Sit." He said. She sat at the small kitchen table and waited as he placed a plate down in front of her heaped with eggs, bacon, and hash browns. He then followed suit, taking his seat across from her and immediately dug into his food. "How did you sleep?" he asked between mouthfuls of egg. "Good and you?" "Good." She watched him eat but all she could think of was why he had those articles in his night stand. She supposed he would tell her when she told him. She knew he deserved to know what happened but she wasn't too sure if she should tell him just yet, but it was only a matter of time until Stefan would find her.


	7. Chapter 7

Elena helped Damon clean up as Damon asked; "Wanna watch a movie?" She smiled, "Sure what've you got?" He smirked, "I'm not quite sure, my sister is a movie buff I'll have to check." She followed him out into the cozy little living room and plopped down onto the overstuffed couch and got comfortable as he kneeled over, show casing a nice view of his rear end as he rifled through movie titles. "I never realized how bad Rose's OCD was. She has the movies organized into genre. What do you want to watch, drama, scary, romantic comedy, action, sci-fi, musical, or fantasy?" Elena thought for a minute before saying, "Scary." "Really?" he asked. She shrugged, "Sure, it's my favorite kind." Damon smirked, unknowingly to her, "Well in that case, _Orphan_, _The Unborn_, or _Scream_?" "How about all of them, I've got nowhere to be."

After watching the Orphan and all of the Screams it was getting dark out. "Chinese sound good?" Damon asked. Elena nodded as he stood to grab the menu out of the kitchen. "Don't start without out me!" he yelled from the other room. Elena smiled, "I won't." He came back moments later, "It'll be about twenty minutes." He popped _The Unborn_ in and pressed play before settling back into his corner of the couch.

As the movie went on Elena felt herself inching closer and closer towards him. "I've never seen this all the way through, it's creepy." She told him as she moved even closer, this time on purpose. Just when she was about to rest her head on his shoulder the intercom buzzer went off. He leapt from the couch, letting out a pregnant sigh and spoke into the intercom, "Come on up." Damon waited at the door until a young blonde came to the door. "Hey Bex." He greeted her as the girl smiled at him in more than a friendly way. "It'll be $20.50 tonight." She told him as he nodded and pulled out $25 and told her to keep the change which resulted to a blush from her as he bid her goodnight and with his arms full, nudged the door shut with his foot.

He carried the food into the kitchen, placing the food onto two plates before returning to the living room where she had returned back to her corner of the couch where she would stay for the rest of the movie. They didn't make eye contact once and when the movie was over they were left in complete silence. Damon turned off the television before saying, "I think it's time we talk."

….

Damon looked at her, watching her watch him. "I want to know what happened to you yesterday." She nodded, sighing before saying, "My husband, Stefan and I got into a fight and it didn't end well. We were fighting about you." Damon raised a brow, "What about me?" She stared intently at the corner of the room, "I had feelings for you but that was it. Stefan couldn't take the possibility of him losing me and it was all just a misunderstanding." Damon didn't buy it but nodded, knowing he wouldn't get anything else out of her. "One more thing." Elena looked at him as he continued, "Want to go get coffee?" Elena nodded, smiling warmly as they stood to grab their coats. Damon wanted to know about what Mr. Rogers told him but he figured it wasn't his place to ask nor was it the time. It would all come in time; he didn't want to chase her away just yet.

They walked to the nearest coffee shop where there was someone playing acoustic and singing covers of melodies that no one had heard in years. He held the door open for her as she entered the small café, taking in the atmosphere of the whole place, the aroma of freshly ground coffee and the quiet chatter of dishes as the woman who sat in the corner on a stool plucked away at her guitar and sung sweet and haunting notes into the air with such content it made Elena want to curl up into a ball, close her eyes and just listen to it all. Damon led her up to the small counter as a middle aged brunette came over, drying her hands on a towel as she went. "Hey hot stuff, who's your friend?" the woman asked Damon. Damon smiled, "Aunt Shelby, this is Elena." Aunt Shelby turned her attention to Elena and grinned even wider, "Hello, Damon's never brought anyone here before, not even his guy friends." Damon ordered both of them an original cinnamon blend, claiming it was the best drink they had.

They sat down in the far corner from the rest of the dwindling customers and sipped from their mismatched mugs. "So tell me about yourself 'hot stuff'." She watched as his face grew red, just like that day not long ago. They spent the rest of the night joking and talking small as Aunt Shelby locked the place up and offered them a ride home but they said that they would walk. But they never quite made it home.

Elena woke up in a pile of pillows on the floor to the sound of a key in the lock. She rubbed her eyes to clear her vision to notice that Damon's jacket was being used as a makeshift blanket on top of her; he must have put it on her after she fell asleep. He lay asleep beside her facing towards her. She heard Aunt Shelby before she saw her, "Sleepover I take it?" she asked in her sweet southern accent. Elena smiled awkwardly, running her fingers through her hair to get rid of the tangles that sleeping had caused. "You like waffles?" Aunt Shelby asked. Elena smiled, "Yeah, waffles are good." The older woman nodded, "Good, I was making some anyways." She then pulled down a cast iron pan and banged a spoon against it whilst shouting, "Rise and shine Romeo!" Damon jumped, sitting up straight and breathing heavily as they both chuckled at him. "Waffles?" he asked. "Yup, and I hope you like chocolate chip missy because it's a Sunday ritual in this family." Little did they know this would only be the start of an unforgettable day.


	8. Chapter 8

They wandered back to Rose's apartment. They headed inside to find the place trashed and in complete ruin. On the wall streaked in what appeared to be one of her lipsticks read, 'Slut!' The couch was split open, the stuffing everywhere. Both the flat screen and kitchen table were smashed and dishes were scattered in shards of glass and ceramic on the counter tops and floor. The bathroom mirror read 'Whore' and the shower door said, 'Fucking Cheat!' The beds were ripped and gutted and the lamps turned over.

Elena fell to the ground, sobs racking her chest, "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." Damon stood in the door way, his mouth gaped open, before his mouth fell into a hard line, "This is not your fault. This was your fucktard of a husband's!" He fell to his knees beside her, wrapping his arms around her and placed a kiss on the top of her hair. "I'm so sorry." She whimpered once more as he rocked her into a soundless sleep.

As Elena slept Damon cleaned up the mess. He would have to replace all of it. It's a good thing that his parents had left him their wealth even if he had never touched it. He finished scrubbing off the writing in the bathroom and stood back with his hands on his hips, evaluating his handy work. He looked to Elena who lay on what was left of the couch. He smiled sadly at her as he picked her up and cradled her in his arms. He carried her to her room and placed her on her bed. She grabbed onto his arm before he could move away. She whispered in her drowsy state one word, and that was "Stay." He sighed, she had been through a lot and it was all his fault, he needed to transfer out of her class.

….

The following morning Damon awoke to the front door opening and closing. Elena was curled up in his arms and he didn't know what to do. He supposed that she knew he was there as he carefully disentangled himself from Elena and padded out into the hallway and shut the door behind him. He met her at the doorway, "What happened to my house?" she asked. Damon sighed, how was he going to tell her. "My friend is in trouble with her husband. He came and destroyed everything while we were out at Aunt Shelby's." Rose looked confused as she lifted a brow, "Who's this husband of hers?" Damon thought for a moment before spitting out his name, "Stefan Pierce."

Rose froze, her facial expression couldn't be read but he was sure that it wasn't good. "Rose? Rose what's wrong?" She gulped, "I owe him money and he is notorious for figuring out how to get it. So far I've been good, flying under the radar. This isn't good." She paced in front of him before saying, "I can't have her hiding here. I don't care who she is, she has to go, today." Damon sighed, pushing his hair off of his forehead as he thought. He couldn't take her back to his dorm it was too easy. Stefan would find them. He nodded, "I'm sorry, I'll fix this. I'll fix all of it." Right when he was about to open the door Rose spoke again, "Damon, don't you think you're trying to hard? Don't even try to tell me she is just a friend. It's dangerous getting involved; you don't know what Stefan is capable of. Damon, he's part of the mob." Damon's eyes widened as he shook his head, "I'm not going to let him hurt her. I'm going to keep her safe until this is all over." "But what if it's never over? You have a whole life ahead of you; you shouldn't throw it all away just because of some girl." Damon froze, turning back towards his twin sister, "Elena is not just some girl. I love her, and that is worth the risk." The conversation was over, Rose knew that as she watched him open his door and shut it behind him.

Elena still lay asleep, curled up in his blankets. Damon watched her for a moment before remembering, there wasn't much time to waste, and he didn't know when he would show up again. He moved over to the bed, lightly shaking her shoulder, "Elena, wake up." She woke right away and sat up, "What's wrong?" she asked when she noticed the expression on his face. "We need to leave. Stefan knows where we are." Elena got up right away and begun to strip. Damon, wide eyed turned away and begun throwing things into a duffel bag. Once she was dressed they headed out to the jeep and started the car. "Where are we going?" she asked. Damon dialed his best friend; he picked up on the second ring. "Ric, get out of the dorm, stay with your parents for a few days. I can't explain right now but I don't want you to get caught in the crossfire."

Elena watched Damon's strained face as he sped out of the parking garage and headed towards Manhattan. Once they were there Damon hid the car and jumped down into the familiar hole in the ground. He helped her down and got everything settled. It was still early in the morning, only about 6am so he told her to sleep. He didn't know how much time he had, but he needed to cover their tracks.


	9. Chapter 9

Damon waited until Elena fell asleep before jotting down a quick note of where he was going and that he wouldn't be long. He covered the hole with a manhole cover and headed towards the nearest bus stop. Once he reached the campus, he walked with a quick pace, checking behind him every once and a while. He didn't know if Stefan knew what he looked like or not. He unlocked the door to his dorm and headed inside. It looked like no one had been there since the night before. Ric must've listened. He grabbed his backpack that he had left on his bed, checking to make sure her robe was still inside. He then grabbed his phone charger, food from the mini fridge (including the two six packs of miller light), and a few changes of clothes. He relocked the door and made sure to make it look like he hadn't been there and rounded the corner. He saw a group of four men headed towards him, all in black trench coats and sunglasses. He could only assume that it was Stefan and his helpers. He didn't know what Stefan looked like but he was more than sure it was the one leading the group. He had a hero hair cut which was ironic considering he seemed to prefer the villainy type of attitude.

Damon went the other way, taking notice to the fact that he was right; this would be the first place they checked. He returned to the bus stop in record timing, running as fast as he ever had. He needed to get back to Elena. He stopped at the food store, buying a bag's worth of food and made his way back to the cove. He slid the cover aside and dropped down. Elena was glaring at him. He recovered the hole and placed his things to the side. "What?" he asked. "You shouldn't have gone alone." She said, pouting. Damon shrugged, "There was no way I would have let you come with me." He paused, "I saw Stefan and his Hench men." He knew this wasn't a superhero movie but it was the only way for him to keep his cool.

Elena raised a brow, "What are you talking about?" Damon froze, "Elena, what does Stefan do for a living?" "He's a stockbroker." "Is that what he told you? Elena have you ever been to his work?" he asked. "No, he never wanted me to come up, said I would distract him." She crossed her arms across her chest, "What are you trying to say?" Damon sighed; he didn't know how to tell her that her deranged husband killed people for a living. "Stefan is a part of the mob." She bunched her brows together, "What? There's no such thing." "That's what I thought too but it's true, I saw them. They looked like they were part of Sherlock Holmes, the sketchy version." Elena giggled before shaking her head, "You're joking right, because it's not funny." Damon shook his head, stepping towards her, "I wouldn't lie to you, ever." Elena begun to cry then as she fell into Damon's arms, he held her tight whispering promises into her ear he knew he couldn't keep and she soon calmed down. She pulled away from him and sat back down on the pile of pillows in the corner.

"So what'd you get?" She asked. Damon reached into his bag and pulled out her purple robe, "I brought you something. You left it behind the day you wore it." He held it out to her as she took it from him. "This is how you knew." She mumbled. "I'm sorry?" Damon asked. "My name, this is how you knew my name. I had asked you but you said it was a long story." Damon nodded before sitting down beside her. "Look Elena, I'm sorry, for everything. For leading you on, for making you uncomfortable, all of it. There was something someone had told me once that all good things come with time. I believe that one day you'll be happy, that you'll find the right guy and settle down and he'll treat you with such respect it'll make you cry. I really believe that we all deserve to be happy, and with time we will be." Elena took this all in, his words, his eyes, his lips, and she couldn't get enough of him. He was too sweet, and too kind. She kissed him then, on the cheek. Through tears she smiled, "Thank you. No guy has ever been this nice to me just to be nice. Not since Matt." Damon watched her face; she bit her lip as if she was holding something back. She then said in a broken voice, "I have done some terrible things in the past. I probably deserve what he's doing. Maybe I should just fess up, go to him. Let him do with me what he will, but then there's you. Everything you have done for me would be a big giant waste. You deserve to know the truth before you hear it from someone else." She twiddled with her thumbs for a second.

"I'm not very proud of what I did in college. I did some pretty stupid things; it's funny that they even let me work there, what with my reputation and all." This was it; she was going to tell him it was true, that everything that Mr. Rogers said was true. Suddenly he didn't want to hear, he didn't want her to have to relive it just to tell him something he already knew. He pushed her hair behind her ear as he whispered, "Hey, hey it's ok. You don't have to tell me, I already know and it's ok. It's in the past; you're not the same person you were before. As people we are always changing, we are never the same person." She began to cry again, staining his shirt with her waterworks. "How'd you get to be so smart and nice?" she asked. Damon smiled sadly, "I guess between my mother and father I got pretty lucky." Elena saw how his face fell and cradled his jaw in her palm. She kissed him then, a real kiss that held every emotion she had ever felt as she waited for him to allow her to enter his mouth before deepening the kiss. She pushed him back onto the pillows as he helped her lift his shirt over his head. "Are you sure?" he asked. She nodded, kissing him again before he could ask another question.

Damon rolled off of her, his breath ragged. Their bodies were sheens of sweat as they both stared at the ceiling, both caught up in their own thoughts. They both smiled lightly, they had finally found each other, no matter what, they could finally be happy.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Hey guys sorry it's been awhile but it took some time to figure out where I wanted to go with this. Before you read on I just want to give you a heads up that there is rape in this chapter so if you are sensitive towards that sort of thing just skip over this chapter once the next one is up. Now that that's out of the way, on with the story!

….

Elena awoke first, she could hear Damon's deep and even breaths as he continued to sleep. She stretched her arms above her head as she caught sight of her robe, perfectly folded on top of the shelf. She slipped it on over her shoulders. She felt him stir in his sleep as she lay back down beside him, she wasn't ready to face the day just yet.

….

After another hour of sleep, they were both awake and dressed and ready to face the day with an iron fist (What is with this superhero terminology)? They ate dry cereal out of Styrofoam bowls as they huddled together to comfort one another, "I need a shower." Elena mumbled. "I know just the place." Damon said. "I'll be right back." he continued to say as he climbed up and out of the hole. Elena waited for five minutes before she poked her head out. She never wanted this to happen, how long had they been waiting, watching, listening? Austin, Stefan's BFF had Damon by the scruff of his neck. "Let go of me!" he growled. Austin chuckled, "Not just yet, my boss hasn't dealt with you yet." Stefan's two other "colleagues" Brad and Steven took their places on opposite sides of Austin. "Come on out doll face or your boyfriend here won't get off so easily." Elena climbed out of the hole, she was used to the nickname that Austin had called her a hundred times, but now it just disgusted her.

"Don't call me that." She spit out as she stood up straight. "How did you find us?" Damon choked out. Austin shook him, "I'm asking the questions here pretty boy." He punched Damon in the side, making him hiss in pain. "You've been a very naughty girl 'Lena." It was Stefan; she could tell from the nickname from her childhood that only he knew about now. He pushed past the men to stand in front of her. "Don't call me that." She whimpered. "Why, only Mattie can call you that right?" Elena flinched at Matt's name. "Don't worry; I won't get the nurse involved, as long as you do something for me." Stefan proposed. She could see the hate in his eyes, could feel his anger radiating off of him. He was waiting for her to say something. "As long as you keep him out of this." She said. Stefan grinned, "I wouldn't dream of it. Now let's go home, shall we?" They headed back to the flat, Damon being dragged by his elbows as Elena was guided into the home by Stefan. They were automatically led into the bedroom.

Damon was thrown into the desk chair as Stefan began to talk, "We saw lover boy here yesterday down at his dorm, foolish boy. We followed him back to you, you just in time to listen in on you making sweet love to him. So since I had to listen, he's going to watch." Elena gasped, "You can't be serious." Stefan shook his head, "Serious as a heart attack. You're going to do all the work too." Damon fought to stand, but it was no use, every time he went to stand, Austin would push him right back down. "Come on, it's really not that big a deal. It'll be just like old times." Elena attempted to slap him then only for him to grab hold of her wrist and pull her to him. He pushed her hand down into his groin, "You feel that? See what you do me?" he whispered into her ear. She turned her head and bit his lip, drawing blood. He slapped her than, "Fucking bitch!" He threw her onto the bed as Damon shouted, "Get your fucking hands off of her!" All of the four men still in their coats chuckled.

Stefan stripped off his trench coat and loosened his tie, "This should be fun." He said as he unbuttoned his dress shirt and tugged down his pants. Elena stared, her mouth a gap, he really was going to go through with it! "I tried to be a good husband, I really did. I tried to ignore your past and how you begun to lose interest. I guess marriage is pointless. Now take your clothes off before I rip them off." Elena pleaded with her eyes, "Please don't do this, you're better than this." Stefan shook his head, "Guys it looks like she's going to need some convincing." Austin grinned, cracking his knuckles, "My pleasure." He smacked Damon upside the head before punching him in the side. Elena felt tears begin to well up, "Fine, fine just please don't hurt him." Stefan shrugged, "No promises, we'll see how you do." Elena nodded, defeat as she stripped down to her underwear. "All of it." Stefan said sternly. Elena looked over to Damon and the nightmares alongside him. "Don't worry about them. I thought you liked to put on a show, I mean you sure did in college anyway." He knew, he knew everything. She looked at Damon once more and mouthed, 'I'm sorry' before sliding her undergarments off. Austin let out a wolf whistle as he looked her up and down. Stefan lied down on the bed, "The best part of all of this is that you're going to be doing all of the work, after all I love when women are on top."

Damon watched on, looking past the bed and stared at the wall. "Oh no, you're going to watch, after all this is your entire fault." Austin grabbed a hold of Damon's jaw and forced him to watch. Elena cried as she rode Stefan. He was grunting like mad as she felt nothing, nothing but pain. His leg twitched than, giving off telltale signs. Elena knew better, she lifted up off of him but he slammed her back down, "Where do you think you're going? You're going to take it!" "But I'm not on the pill!" she cried. It was over in a matter of seconds as Stefan stood and wiped himself off before pulling on his boxers. "Now let's get down to business." He cracked his knuckles as Austin and Brad ripped Damon out of his chair. "What are you doing? We had a deal!" Elena shouted. "I said I wouldn't get Matt involved, I said nothing about Mr. Salvatore here." He turned to his workers, "Take him to the back alley." They left the room as Elena pulled on her clothes and ran after them.

She found them holding Damon up as Stefan raised his fist to him. "Stop!" She begged. Steven held her back she watched Damon get pummeled over and over again. Eventually he was to weak that Austin and Brad dropped him as Stefan begun to kick him in the sides. Someone shouted from a window declaring that they were calling the cops. Stefan took one last kick right at his mouth. Steven let her go as they fled at the sound of police sirens. Elena crawled over to Damon, she had done this, and it was all her fault. A cop showed up then, clearing his throat, "What happened here?" Elena looked up at the man and spoke through sobs, "The mob is very much still alive and the one who's at fault for this is Stefan Pierce."


	11. Chapter 11

Once they reached the hospital, they asked Elena who she was and the first thing that came to mind was, "I'm his wife." She knew that if she told them that she was only his girlfriend, if that, they would make her stay out in the waiting room. "Well we'll need you to sign some things." "Can't you wait until his sister gets here?" she asked the nurse. A minute later Rose stormed into the ICU and pointed a finger at Elena, "You, what are you doing here? This is all your fault. You're the one who got my brother into this mess!" She then looked to the wide-eyed nurse, "Why is she here? Only immediate family I thought was allowed in here." The nurse looked like a deer in headlights, "She's your brother's wife." Rose looked like she was going to be sick, "She is not his wife!" The nurse looked to Elena, "I think it's time you go."

….

Elena spent the rest of the night in the ER's waiting room. It wasn't until about 9am did Rose emerge from behind the big swinging doors. "Rose, is he ok?" The younger brunette looked exhausted; her hair was matted to her head, her makeup smeared, and her eyes puffy as if she had been crying. She stormed past Elena and out the revolving door. Elena ran after her, "Rose, wait!" She followed Rose down the street when she finally turned to face her, "Don't talk to me. He almost died because of you!" Elena felt her heart falter, she knew it was her fault but when it came from someone else's mouth it seemed more real, it hurt more. "I don't think I could ever apologize properly for what happened, but I need to know. Is he going to be ok?"

Rose looked at her defeated, "He's out of his coma if that's what you wanted to know. Most of his teeth are either broken or missing; he has two cracked ribs, and a broken arm. The worst part is though, he has short term memory loss for now, he doesn't remember anything up to the first day of school." Elena felt her stomach plummet to her feet. "I don't know what he remembers but if you want, you can come back to my place while I get a shower and we can go back together." Rose continued. Elena smiled sadly and nodded, "That would be nice."

Once everything was settled and Rose was freshened up, the two girls went back to the hospital. Rose even told the nurse that Elena was in fact her brother's wife and they just had a predicament but everything was fine now. When they reached his room Elena felt her heart shatter into a million and one pieces. Damon lay on his back, staring at his ceiling blankly. He had gauze wrapped around his forehead to stop the bleeding from Stefan's ring. His left arm was in a sling and his lips were split and bleeding. The nurse dabbed away the blood and gave him a fresh glass of water before leaving them alone. Damon sat up, bleary eyed as he looked between the two. His eyes fixed on Elena before speaking, "Mrs. Pierce?"

Rose looked between the two; all she could do was try to understand Elena's pain. "Hey bro." she said. Damon looked at her before looking back at his English professor with a questioning look, "I'm sorry, but what exactly are you doing here?" he asked her. Elena felt the pending sobs begin to rise in her throat. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright." She said her voice cracking. Damon nodded, giving her a polite smile, "I'll be alright, and they gave me medicine so I won't feel anything but it's making me drowsy." Elena nodded, "I'll see you once you get back in school." She left the room then as she heard Rose run after her. She caught her at the door, "Look, I can't even imagine what you're feeling but I think this might just be for the better, he doesn't have to remember this part of his life, it's not like it was an important part considering all of the bad things that have happened in the past few weeks. Maybe it's best that you forget him and move on." Elena nodded, flinching at her touch as Rose rested her hand on Elena's shoulder, "Take care."

….

The next month went by in a blur; Elena had found an apartment closer to her work and sold her jeep. She threw away her robe and anything else that reminded her of him. Rose was right, she wasn't good for him, it was better for everyone if she was willing to forget that any of it ever happened.

She hadn't touched another man since and she wasn't planning on it anytime soon. She found friendship in two of her colleagues, Caroline Forbes who taught education studies and Bonnie Bennett who taught ancient history. Everything was slowly going back to normal until one day she woke up in the middle of the night, throwing her guts up into the porcelain bowl. She washed out her mouth and then slid to the floor. She rested her head in her hands and begun to cry. The next day she begged Bonnie to go to the drug store with her, she needed to be sure. She bought three pregnancy tests and returned back to her apartment. Bonnie waited outside of the bathroom as she took the tests. Five minutes later, they got their answer. Elena felt sick to her stomach.


	12. Chapter 12

All three sticks were pink plus signs. She was pregnant. Bonnie smiled feebly, Elena poured her heart out to her a week into their friendship. "What am I going to do?" Elena asked. Bonnie slid to the floor beside her, "You deal with it." She said as she rubbed Elena's back, "And Care and I'll be here to help you get through this."

….

After the two month mark Damon showed up. He finally was returning to classes, except he wasn't staying. In his hand he held a white slip of paper. He neared her desk nervously as he smiled, "Good morning." Elena felt air stick in her throat, "Damon." She said. He nodded, holding the paper out to her. "You're transferring classes." She stated, reading over the paper. He was transferring over to Mr. Lockwood's class. She knew Tyler fairly well, he was Caroline's fiancé and she was sure he was an exceptional teacher, but she didn't want him to go. Now she won't be able to see him every day, but she signed it anyways, she couldn't be selfish, not with him. "Have fun." She said, handing the signed paper back. Their fingers grazed over each other as Elena looked up at his face, nothing. "Thanks." He said, than he left. No happy ending what so ever, the best part was, she didn't even expect for him to come running back into the room. She left that evening tired and broken. If only she stayed around just a little bit longer, she would have seen him jog back to the room to find it dark and locked.

Damon strolled back to his dorm, hands in his pockets as he flipped the bobby pin over and over again. "It could be anybody's dude." Alaric tried to reason. "I know man I know, but something tells me that it's hers. The way she was looking at me today and when our fingers touched, I don't know man, it was something." Alaric sighed; he never knew what had happened months ago, it had all happened too quickly. "Things like that don't just happen man; women like her don't fool around with guys like us." Damon shook his head in disagreement, "It was in the cove dude, and not even you have been there. This girl was special." Alaric shrugged, "Doesn't mean it was your English professor!" They reached their dorm and headed inside. "I'm just looking out for you man." Damon nodded as he dropped his bag at the door and grabbed a beer out of the fridge, if he couldn't remember, why start now?

….

Elena stood in front of her mirror, resting her hand on her small baby bump. She smiled sadly at her reflection, she would make the most of it, she wasn't going to tell Stefan. It was for the best, after everything that happened she couldn't imagine making her child go through the same thing. She slipped into a pair of slacks and a black sweater and headed off down the street on her morning walk to work. It wasn't just any day though; it was the last day before winter break. She would finally be able to relax and kick back her beginning to swell feet. When she reached her door she saw a male figure leaning against it. It was Mr. Mikaelson, the Vice President of the school board. "Mr. Mikaelson, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?" The man smiled warmly at her, clearly dazed by her appearance, "No nothing's wrong, I just came by to wish you a good holiday considering I won't be here after classes conclude this evening." "Oh." She said, smiling. She moved around him to unlock her door, flicking on the lights and headed over to her desk. She knew he would follow. "I was wondering, my family they are having this dinner, well they have it every year but I was wondering if you'd like to go. My other siblings will be there and they'll nag me like they do every year about not bringing anyone." "So you want me to go." She finished for him. "Precisely." He said, clasping his hands together behind his back. Elena thought for a moment, she suppose she could, it's not like she had a life. "I'd love to." He grinned, "Great, I'll pick you up on Saturday." She quickly wrote down her address for him as he stuffed it into his pocket and headed towards the door. He looked back at her with a smile, "Oh and call me Elijah."

….

Elena sat in the teacher's lounge that afternoon with Caroline and Bonnie. "Elijah Mikaelson asked you out?!" Caroline squealed. Elena nodded excitedly, she could finally move on and stop hoping for something that she knew would never happen, he would never remember her so she might as well try and forget.


	13. Chapter 13

Elena stood in front of her floor length mirror, modeling the black and red cocktail dress for no one other than herself. It didn't show off her bump, which was a good thing considering she hadn't told Elijah yet but she was sure that this would only be a onetime thing anyway. She heard the intercom buzzer go off as she rushed into her quaint living room and pressed the button, "Be right down." She said into the speaker. She grabbed her keys and her purse, locking her door behind her and headed down the stairs and out the lobby door. She was shocked by who she saw though, "Damon."

Damon stood on the stairs, noticing her attire, "I'm so sorry, I could come back at another time." Elijah pulled up then at the curb. "Shit." She swore under her breath as she shoved Damon toward the lobby door, slipping him her keys. "Elena." Elijah said as he climbed out of his car. Elena face palmed, "I forgot something, silly me, I'll be right back." She ran back inside to find Damon standing at the foot of the stairs. She rolled her eyes and pulled his arm, dragging him along up to her apartment. Once they were inside she turned to him, "What are you doing here?" she hissed. He looked at her, concentrating, "I can't remember." He muttered. Elena sighed, she noticed the bobby pin, her bobby pin in his hand, "Where did you get that?" she asked. He shrugged, "It was in a very special place." Elena sighed, the cove. "You must be mistaken, you might have just gotten it from my desk." She said. Damon shook his head, he would not forget, "No, I found this in a very special place of mine and I think you know what I'm talking about." Elena shook her head, why was he making it so hard? He didn't deserve to be held down by her, "No, I'm sorry. I have to get going, I got somewhere to be." He nodded before leaving in a hurry.

….

Elijah helped Elena out of his car, shutting her door behind her. Elena looked before her at the huge lawn and the mansion. "I didn't know you were rich!" she said. Elijah shrugged, "Well truly it is my parent's money, I'm only rich by association." Elena nodded, taking it all in. "Let's go inside." Elijah said, taking her hand. They headed into the gigantic home as he shut the door behind them. Elena felt so out of place in this home, just the entrance to the home looked like it from a magazine.

Elijah guided her to the dining room where the rest of the family was already sat. "How kind of you to join us Elijah, I did think you weren't going to show this year, considering the circumstances." The woman who said this sat at the head of the table, her short and wavy hair tucked behind one ear. The woman then caught sight of Elena, "Why I didn't know you were bringing someone tonight. Hello dear, I'm Esther, Elijah's mother. And you are?" Elena felt uncomfortable from hearing Elijah get put down by his own mother in the span of seconds. "I'm Elena, Elena Gilbert." She said. "Well sit dear, there's plenty to go around." Elijah sighed as he held out a chair for her to sit. Elena sat down as he found a seat beside her. Around the table sat four of Elijah's siblings she guessed and at the other end of the table a man who she assumed was his father.

"So Elena I'm sure Elijah hasn't spoken much of us, after all he did promise never to come back here after last year's incident." Esther said, balancing a glass of wine in her hand. "Um no he didn't." she said, unsure of what to say. Across from her sat two of what appeared to be twins what with their fair blonde hair and similar features. "I'm Klaus and this is Rebekah." The man spoke, motioning to himself and then his sister. Elena nodded, "It's nice to meet you." On her other side sat a man with short cropped brown hair, "And I'm Kol." He said with a sort of arrogant tone. The last sibling sat next to his mother, quietly pushing the food around on his plate. "This here is Finn." Esther said, resting her hand on his shoulder. Elena couldn't help but notice him flinch beneath her touch. "And I'm Michael." Said a louder, deeper voice, it was the man at the foot of the table. Elena nodded, feeling uneasy about the whole situation.

After a couple of moments Esther begun her Q&A, "So Elena, what is it that you do for a living?" Elena nodded, taking a moment to think, "Well I'm an English professor at the university." Esther smiled, as if she was adoring a pet. "That's…nice." She said, pausing for words. She felt the rest of the family's eyes on her. "Well you did bring a nice one Elijah, pretty and smart." Klaus said. Elijah nodded as Kol jumped in, "Yes, very lovely indeed." He said, giving her a look that made her skin crawl. "Perhaps it is time we should be going." Elijah said then, standing up from his chair. "Nonsense, you haven't finished your dinner." Elijah clenched his hands into fists as he tried to stay calm, "I am no longer a child mother, I will see you next year." He helped Elena from her chair and led her out of the house and to the car.

"I'm so sorry; I shouldn't have brought you here. I couldn't bear for them to demine you for one more moment." He said, helping her into the car. Elena felt sorry for him, she had no idea he came from such a cruel family. "You are so kind, much nicer than the rest of your family." She said to him once he started the car. "Yes well, unlike them I can see when enough is simply enough." He said before starting the car and pulling out of the gravel driveway. He drove her home, helping her out and walking her to the door. "Would you like to come up?" she asked, she figured the least she could do would be to offer him a drink. Elijah politely declined, "I don't think that'll be necessary. I like you too much to screw this up and if I go up there with you, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my hands to themselves." Elena felt herself get all hot and bothered, she caught an image of her beneath him, his strong arms enveloping her as he thrust into her from every which way, it had been too long. "You don't have to worry, I'll keep you inline." She joked. He shook his head, "A kiss on the cheek will suffice I hope." He kissed her cheek, "Goodnight Elena." He said before stepping off of the stoop and climbed back into his car. Elena watched him drive off before heading inside where she found a note stuck beneath her door. On the front of the paper her name was scratched. "This isn't over." It read. It didn't say his name but after grading his papers numerous times, she knew it was him.


	14. Chapter 14

Classes the next day dragged as Elena could only think of the note she found last night. What did it mean; could he possibly be getting his memory back? If he did they couldn't get back together, it was complicated. How would he take the news of her being pregnant and that it was Stefan's? All of these questions floated around her head all day. She cleaned up her desk, another day coming to an end. She was in need for some caffeine and there was only one place she could think of that had an amazing original cinnamon blend.

When she reached the coffee shop she was greeted at the counter by no other than Aunt Shelby, "Hey Hun, how's it going?" "It's going alright." She said, looking over the menu that was hanging on the wall. "What can I get ya?" she asked Elena. "An original cinnamon blend would be nice." She said. She shouldn't have come here, she could only think of him and their one good night before it all went to hell. As Aunt Shelby made her coffee she watched Elena, "What's wrong dear? Something on your mind?" Elena figured she could open up to this woman; she seemed like someone she could trust. "I have a secret." She started, testing the waters. "A secret huh?" Elena nodded, "Yeah and I don't know how he's going to take it. He's starting to remember and I was kinda hoping he wouldn't, it would've been a lot easier to just move on without pain on both parties." "What about you? You remember so why is it ok only if you go through the pain?" Shelby asked, passing Elena her coffee. "Because it was my fault he got hurt."

After spending over an hour explaining the story to her, Elena felt a weight lift off of her chest. She had only told this story to Caroline and Bonnie in confidence, but this felt more real, it was his family. "So what are you going to do?" Shelby asked, now knowing her little secret. "That's just it, I don't know." Elena said. Aunt Shelby sighed, "Well dear, it's not something you need to know right away and sometimes it's better if you don't. Hell if I didn't act on instinct once or twice in my life Damon would never have been born. I was the one who brought his parents together you know." She paused, drying off a few dishes. "It was at his mother's prom. I saw this young man standing near the wall all by himself, making moon eyes at his mother. I saw this and knew it was something I just had to do. I grabbed a hold of his arm, dragged him across the dance floor and cut in where my sister was dancing with her jerk of a date and threw them together. Story short, they didn't leave each other's side the rest of the night. So moral of the story is, instinct is not always the worst thing." Elena listened, finally having heard something to keep her mind off of her own problems.

….

Damon paced the floor of the hallway, waiting someone out wasn't exactly the best idea but he was desperate. He needed to know the truth, what happened between them? He didn't know what happened he just knew it was her, and it would always be her.

Elena couldn't believe what she saw; he was sitting on the floor, leaning back against her door asleep. It was the cutest thing she had ever seen. She didn't know if she should wake him, but she needed to get into her house so she tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, wakeup." She said, helping him stand. She unlocked her door and held it open for him. He stood there watching her as she sighed, "You came all of this way and god knows how long you waited, you deserve some coffee." He eyed her empty coffee cup in her hand and said, "You were at Aunt Shelby's weren't you." He said, it wasn't a question. Elena tried to make a quizzical look, "Who's Aunt Shelby, the woman who sold me my coffee?" Damon rolled his eyes, "Don't act like you don't know. I may not have all of my memories back but I remember you, especially your eyes." Elena didn't know what to say, she was puzzled on what words to choose. Elena decided not to say anything even as her heart melted. She promised Rose and that promise was going to break sooner rather than later, she couldn't bear to hurt him anymore than she already had. Even though she didn't deserve him, he deserved to know. So she told him everything, from the day they met to the day she cut her hand, everything. After two cups of coffee for her and just the one for him Elena breathed with a sigh of relief, it was said and there was no taking it back now. Damon sat, quiet and unsure of what to say, "So this really happened? That's it?"

Elena couldn't believe her ears; he didn't find how he almost died good enough? She begun to laugh in an explosion of complete and udder disbelief and even begun to cry. Damon sat there, staring at her as she held her sides as she continued to cackle. "Are you ok?" he asked. "Yeah, I'm great!" she said in between gasps of air. After she regained her composure she sat across from him, "This moment has been floating over my head for months now and this was definitely not the reaction I had expected." She explained. He watched her, trying to understand what it had taken to tell him. "Was there a reason you waited so long to tell me?" he asked. Elena sighed, deciding to leave his sister out of it, "I didn't think I deserved you, hell I know I don't. I wanted you to get a shot at a differently life, one where none of my craziness would be remembered. I just knew that there was a chance for it all to be erased, that you would never remember it and could move on and live the life you were meant to."

No one had ever been this nice to him, he thought. Not one person had ever gone completely out of their way to make him happy. He didn't know what to say, he just knew what he had to do. He leaned over the table and kissed her. He kissed her like his life depended on it, as if he let go of her lips he would lose his source of oxygen. He cradled her face in his hand, knowing that she wanted it just as much as he did, knowing how wrong it was but how right it felt. Together they could make this work.

….

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this is a day late but I had already prewritten this chapter but then lost half of it so it had to be rewritten. If you haven't noticed I've begun uploading on Sundays, so I'll be trying to get a chapter out to you at least every Sunday if I haven't already put one up. But not to worry if I finish a chapter earlier than usual I will upload it as soon as it's finished and I'm happy with it. I hope you liked this chapter because with fluff must come angst; at least that's how I see it anyways. I'm planning to have just a few more chapters (five?) before this is over and possibly a sequel, but only if enough of you request it. I have a lot of fics I have planned; I just need to write them which always seem to be my problem, too many ideas and not enough writing. I'll see you next update, which hopefully will be tomorrow or Wednesday, so keep an eye out. Until next time, stay beautiful –Marissa3


	15. Chapter 15

Elena woke up the next morning in her own bed, curled up in her own sheets, but she was tangled in his arms. Last night had been a break through; it was the first time in a long time that she has a boy stay the night and hadn't slept with him. "Good morning worry wart." He said, lifting himself up on his elbows. She continued to stare off into space. "Keep having that staring contest with the wall and that crease on your forehead will be permanent. You'll look like one of those weird Sims." Damon said. Elena threw her pillow at him, a smile as wide as the Grand Canyon plastered to her face. Her phone chose to go off then, dragging them both back into reality. It was her calendar; it read 'Baby Checkup 9:30'. She was about three months along now. That's when it hit her; she forgot to tell Damon, of all things she forgot to tell him the one thing that could possibly change his life forever. She checked her clock, she had an hour. "What was the alarm for?" he asked, fingering the edge of her favorite blanket. "I have an appointment." She said, standing from the bed. She shivered as her feet touched the cold floor. "Doctor's appointment?" he asked. She nodded, biting her lip. She decided he would find out anyway, how he didn't notice the small bump was beyond her knowledge. "I'm pregnant." She blurted out. Damon's eyes widened in shock, the anger, "As if you could forget that night as it was; now you're going to have his bastard child?!" Elena flinched; she had never heard him yell before. He noticed her flinch away from him and his anger subsided, "Elena I am so sorry." He moved over to her, wiping away her stray tears.

"I'm going with you." He whispered into her hair. "You don't have to do this." "I want to because I love you." He kissed her eyelids then. Elena felt her chest clench, "No you don't, everything you feel is fueled by your lack of memory." She felt his arms tense around her; it was a tough blow she knew, so she didn't blame him for when he pulled away from her. "Is that what you really think?" he asked. Elena sighed, "I want to believe you, and I do but you don't deserve this. You're so young and you have so much to offer. You have so much love to give; you can make someone really happy." Damon felt hot tears streaming down his face, "No, I am not losing you right when I get you back." Elena could only think of one thing that would drive him away and that would be to hurt him, "You never really had me." She whispered. Those words cut him like a knife, for once Damon was speechless. "Please, just go." She mumbled. He clenched his hands into fists, "This is not over, and I will find a way to prove my love to you." He then left in a hurry, no longer wanting to make a fool of himself. Once she heard her front door close, she collapsed onto her bed, drowning in her own tears.

….

When she reached the radiology office she couldn't believe her eyes. Elijah sat behind the secretary's desk. "Elijah?" He looked up, gulping, "Hello Elena." "What are you doing here?" she asked, as if the situation could be any more awkward. "Promise you won't tell anyone?" he asked. She nodded, listening to what he had to say. "My boyfriend is one of the techs here." Elena's eyes widened, "But Saturday." He sighed, "Was a cover so my family wouldn't find out, I'm so sorry." Elena shrugged, trying to make light of the mood, "Dr. Lavine right?" He nodded timidly. "Very nice." She said. They both chuckled as her doctor came out to greet her, "Elena Gilbert?" he called from the doorway. "Hello Dr. Gellar." She said, walking past him and into the empty hallway.

Elena sat on a bench outside of her classroom that Monday after break. In her hand she held her first sonogram. She felt the brush of someone's clothing as they sat down beside her. Bonnie spoke first, "Do you really think its Stefan's?" Elena shook her head as her voice cracked, "No." Bonnie pulled her friend into her arms, stroking her hair. "He's too young." Elena sobbed. Bonnie shook her head, "Says who? You're both adults, it's not like he's a child." Elena sighed; it had come to her realization the night before that it was possible that her child could also be Damon's. Bonnie took the sonogram from Elena's hands and it only took her a moment before she gasped, "Elena you're having twins?"

….

Damon sat at his desk in his dorm, his fifth beer resting in his hand. Alaric walked in then, "Dude you're trashed." "No you are bucko bucka-buckaroo." Damon slurred. Alaric ripped the beer from his hand, "Time to cut you off." He said. Damon stood on his wobbly legs, "I'm going to go see Elena." Ric pulled him away from the door, "Not while you're drunk you're not." "You're such a good friend." Damon said. Alaric rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

After Damon sobered up he returned to her apartment. It was getting late but he needed to see her, needed to tell her. He knocked on her door but there was no answer. He knocked again, more persistently this time. "Elena?" he called through the door. "Go away Damon." She sounded defeated. He shook his head, "I'll just sit here until you let me in." he said, more than ready to spend another night at her door. He waited another moment before leaning back against the door and sliding down the ground. What he didn't know though was that she was leaning against the other side, wishing she could just be selfish for once in her life without feeling guilty about it.


	16. Chapter 16

Elena woke up on the hardwood floor of her living room. She stood slowly, opening her door to find Damon curled up on the hallway carpet. She sighed; she honestly didn't know what to do with him anymore. She nudged him with her toe as he stirred in his sleep. When he looked up at her with big blue eyes that were glazed over her heart broke. "Come on." She told him, holding out her hand to help him up.

Damon took her hand to stand up before brushing off his jeans and following her back into her apartment. A few minutes later they were back in the position from two nights ago. Elena poured them both a cup of coffee before sitting down at the kitchen table across from him. "We need to sort whatever this is out." Elena said, motioning between the two of them. Damon nodded, feeling a very strong migraine coming on; it felt like World War III was going off in his head. "Do you have any Tylenol; I'm kind of having a hangover." Elena nodded, "Sure." She left the room for a moment before returning with a bottle of pills. Damon downed two, washing them down with a gulp of coffee.

"Damon, what I told you yesterday was something I didn't want to tell you, but I knew that you needed to know, and if you had let me finish you would have known that there is a possibility that the baby isn't Stefan's." Elena started off. Damon thought for a moment, "Who else could it be?" he asked. Elena rolled her eyes before mumbling, "You." Damon looked up wide-eyed, him a father? It didn't seem possible, yet here he is listening to what Elena was telling him. "Are you sure?" he asked, dumbfounded. Elena sighed, "Well I only slept with both of you once so it's a fifty-fifty chance." She hated admitting that, it made her sound like such a slut even if it wasn't her fault, which in her head it was. Damon sighed, "I guess we won't find out for quite awhile then." Elena nodded, "Six months."

….

-Five Months Later-

Elena curled herself up into Damon's arms, it had been nice and peaceful, there had been nothing from Stefan, maybe they did catch him. They were watching Scream when Elena begun to feel an ache in the pit of her stomach, and then she was wet. "Damon?" she asked. He was half asleep beside her, "Yeah?" he asked in a drowsy state. "It's time." "What do you mean, it's time?" he asked. Elena gripped onto his arm as she felt the beginning of contractions, "The fucking baby's coming!" She hissed. Damon stood up wide-eyed as he quickly ran for their bedroom. They packed the month before just in case of early pregnancy. He grabbed the bag of clothes and then ran back into the living room to find Elena trying to stand. He helped her up and opened the front door, shuffling her out into the hall and rushing down the stairs and to the car.

Once they made it to the hospital, Damon got Elena a wheel chair before the nurse took her back to get set up. He waited impatiently next to the front desk just as another nurse came out saying, "Mr. Salvatore, they're ready for you." She handed him a pair of scrubs and ushered him back into a room to change and then showed him the way to his girlfriend.

Damon entered the room just as he heard a shrill groan from Elena, "Where's my boyfriend? Where's Damon?" she was panicking. "I'm here." He said, rushing over to her side. She took hold of his hand, squeezing tightly, "I can't do this Damon, make it stop. Make it all stop." Damon shook his head, he knew it was the fear talking, "No, Elena you can do this. You are strong, you can get through this." He said. "But what if they aren't yours?" she asked, breathy. He shook his head again, "Doesn't matter, I still love them." About three hours later the first of the twins came into the world, "It's a girl!" the doctor bellowed. He handed the small ball of screeching pink to one of the nurses to clean up before handing her to Damon. The nurse handed her the child, "She looks just like you." The nurse said. Damon looked down at the pink blanket in his arms and couldn't believe his eyes, raven colored hair. Neither Stefan nor Elena had that. He beamed, he really didn't think they would be his, but they were. About two minutes later their second daughter arrived, "Another girl!" shouted the doctor. Soon Damon was holding both of his daughters. When they opened their eyes for the first time, the first thing they saw was their weeping father. "Lena, they're mine. I have two daughters, _we_ have two daughters."

Damon handed one of them over to Elena as they were left alone for their privacy. "I'm so glad that it's you Damon." Elena said through tears. One of the babies had dark brown tresses with big blue eyes and the other had raven colored locks with big chocolate colored eyes. They both had a piece of their mother and father. "What are we going to name them?" Elena asked. "I get a say?" Damon asked, shocked. "Of course, you are the father." A little while later they had decided on Alexia Rose and Hailey Bow.

….

-Two Days Later-

Elena and Damon returned home with their daughters to find a note stuck under their door, it read:

"You think you could get rid of me that easily? Believe me, the trouble hasn't even begun but when it does you'll be begging for it just to be a near death experience. Give the girls my love and I'll see you both oh so soon. Stefan."

….

A/N: Sorry it's been a while, this chapter is not my best I will admit. I just wanted to get it out there before I waited any longer. So Elena and Damon had their babies, how many of you were surprised they were Damon's? Let me know, I'm sure I made it obvious somehow. I have a lot planned for this once I get most of the plot figured out it should be a piece of cake to write. Thanks for reading and hopefully I'll see you very soon in the next update. Stay beautiful, Marissa


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